I have 40+ years of industry experience and I am one of the leading authorities in the US on the failure of sports equipment, stools, and chairs. I am also a bow deer hunter and have used many different tree stands over the years, including ones that I designed for my own personal use. It is most likely that the straps and stitching are synthetic polymeric materials like polyester or nylon. I am an expert in synthetic materials including their strength properties and failure modes. I have a network of labs that can analyze the straps and stitching materials to determine if they are defectively manufactured. I believe that any device that supports body weight which would result in bodily injury if failure occurred, should have clear warnings regarding use and required maintenance. I have served as an expert in over 150 cases involving the failure of all kinds of plastic parts including pulleys, latches, pipes, hoses, stools, chairs, sports equipment, medical devices, toys, fabrics, bags, containers, helmets, etc. I believe that basic part design and material failure principles that have governed my forensic failure analysis projects over the past 40+ years also apply to tree stands.
